Mainstream content is often associated with viral content. Every brand regardless of industry wants their content to go viral. In some ways, it’s how brand’s measure their social media marketing successes.

Going viral is much easier said than done. Just reaching a niche audience with corporate content that feels authentic rather than forced is difficult. Getting that niche audience to engage is even more challenging. Converting that niche audience into loyal consumers…well, that is an entire multi-media marketing campaign by itself.

Sounds too good to be true, but it is a very real possibility given new information into Facebook’s upcoming Branded Content Matching Search Engine.

Understand that Facebook wants corporate brands to succeed in converting and interacting with users who are actively participating on their social platform. Above that, however, Facebook requires that the content driving participation is adding value to the user experience. Genuine, thoughtful, sincere content that encourages real engagement (comments, shares, video views, click-throughs, etc.) is Facebook’s new baseline.

The updated Facebook algorithm does, in fact, make it harder to promote branded content organically. Especially if it does little to benefit the interests of users.

At this point in social media marketing, it is beneficial for brands to pay to get their content seen by the right groups of people. The amount of money backing an add determines reach and improves the likelihood that it will be circulated to even more people. But dumping money into Facebook ad spend will not always generate a guaranteed outcome.

In all honesty, poorly curated content backed by a big budget will remain poorly curated content. Audiences will pass it by without the slightest consideration.

The same goes for really good content that does not appeal to a target audience. That is like pitching a life-changing product in an empty room.

Don’t waste your time doing either. Tilt the odds in your favor and focus your ad budget on creating good content and publishing it in the right places.

This tool will give corporate brands access to both core and untapped audience groups via influencer marketing.

Imagine a brand like TomboyX, a universal, eco-friendly clothing and underwear brand designed to fit real people comfortably. TomboyX has a well-established culture. Their market is predominantly female and appeals to the rebels of society. However, they also market to men and women who do not fit the TomboyX-esque physique and attitude.

With the new influencer marketing search engine by Facebook, TomboyX will be able to curate target-specific content with the help of an influencer who is knowledgeable and relevant in their community.

If TomboyX wants to switch their Facebook marketing focus to target men — whether they be athletes, beach bodies, or hardcore gamers — they can hire an influencer to collaborate and deliver their messaging to these groups in familiar, trustworthy packaging. That means knowing what type of media they prefer to engage with: video, photo, graphics, illustrations, story ads, live video, etc.

This is going to equip corporate brands with segments of irresistible, organic content, which will lead consumers to associate their brand’s online personalities with the influencers who are promoting their media.

This ongoing relationship will eventually open consumers up to a series of branded messaging that can be refreshed with new influencer participation to keep content in the mainstream longer.

Additionally, the spaces where these influencer collaborations will be promoted (i.e., the influencers’ profiles and sponsored ad space) will guarantee longevity. Good content that lives alongside an influencer, for instance, will generate more impressions, both at the moment of publication and weeks prior. This higher engagement rate will increase the ranking of sponsored ads, which will expand circulation, thus keeping it relevant for longer durations.

Influencers will get paid for the content they help generate and promote. The better the content they deliver in terms of impressions, the more likely a brand will work with that influencer again.

This influencer-brand relationship will also teach marketers what their consumers value most when interacting with their sponsored content. In the long term, this data will help creative marketers to consistently deliver useful information to receptive audiences.

Creators and influencers opt into the search engine. Their portfolio is uploaded, including their audience size, metrics, and their best-branded content.

Marketers can then search for specific audiences based on their advertising needs, narrowing the scope with industry-specific parameters:

• Top countries where they’re popular
• Interests
• Gender
• Education history
• Relationship status
• Life events
• Homeownership status
• Home type

The search engine’s results page shows a list of creators with each audience’s match percentage to the search terms, the percentage of their followers they reach, engagement rate, follower count and video views.

Marketers, or brands, hire influencers to collaborate and promote. What they can do from there is only limited by their creativity.

It is important to note that content created from the influencer-brand relationship will have to be a team effort. It will not be as simple as hiring an influencer, giving them creative insights into the ad’s function and having them generate successful media from it.

The brand will need to be involved and directly curate content with the influencer. That is just another clever way Facebook is ensuring that branded content will remain authentic and valuable to their users.

Creating engaging content is every marketer’s goal. Creating engaging content that doesn’t convert, however, is a big waste of time and valuable assets.

The big reason content falls short on conversions? It fails to reach an audience.

Facebook live video is one of the newest tools for social media marketers.

It is designed to help marketers publish engaging content that caters to, and connects with, more interactive, thoughtful audiences.

Part of the audience’s favorability for Facebook Live Streaming is the chance to interact with their favorite brands in a raw, unfiltered, unscripted setting. Audiences are responding to this authenticity with regular, genuine engagement, which marketers are converting.

When an audience is a part of the conversation in real time they are more emotionally invested in the subject matter. This personal connection to messaging is highly effective. It levels the playing field and in a way humanizes brand messaging by delivering it casually.

These casual business-consumer interactions open consumers up to a whole new spectrum of messaging.

The setting is the most powerful function here.

These conversations happen in a medium that is significantly more relaxed than threads where ads are strategically inserted. This tends to lower the consumers’ apprehensions — their doubt regarding the corporate persona — which positions them to engage in real-time, click to a landing page, purchase online, or subscribe to an emailing list.

For example:

Consider a business with multiple brand extensions. There is the primary identity — the main chunk of what the business produces. This is the industry persona.

Then there is the non-profit brand extension. This motivates the primary identity because the success of the primary directly affects the effectiveness of this extension. This is the philanthropic persona.

There is the culturally centered spin-off of the primary brand. This could be a community forum, a physical place (like a bar or rental space), or a series of regular programming/events. This is the cultural persona.

Finally, there is the merchandising shop. This is a physical space within the business and also an online shop. This is the consumer-centric persona — a way for your audience to attach their identity to your brand via merchandise.

Each brand extension shares certain audiences. Each brand is also comprised of specific subsets of loyal followers that are not as involved in one extension as they may be with another.

One audience subgroup may visit the cultural persona for updates on local events more than they would the philanthropic persona, which has stronger messaging. Furthermore, each audience member may not even follow Facebook pages for each brand extension.

This is a local event hosted by the non-profit, which is associated with, and established by, the primary brand. The cultural brand persona is an information resource for the community, so the “local event” application suites this brand’s guidelines as well. Take this even further and incorporate the merchandising persona into the live broadcast, because of it’s physical presence and connection to the fundraising application.

The messaging is consistent for all brand extensions. They share elements of branding, tone of voice and intent, which allows marketers to broadcast one message on every page. A single live video now has the potential of reaching four target demographics.

That’s not all!

Marketers are in essence introducing and connecting their audience subgroups with one another by connecting multiple brand extensions with one segment of messaging. This ultimately strengthens the overall company culture.

Marketers (in this example) quantify their reach exponentially because Facebook live videos typically experience 3x more engagement than regular video content.

This is an awesome way for marketers to strengthen a brand’s industry authority. Not only does this attract a new audience, but it attracts an audience that is already loyal to a brand that shares similar values.

Say an architecture firm worked in conjunction with a landscape architecture firm on a large-scale design project. Their industries overlap but don’t conflict. Their messaging follows similar guidelines, as do their core values. By collaborating on a live video broadcast they can consolidate loyal viewers and establish greater authority in their industries without compromising each others status.

That’s a big win.

Here are the tips to get started:

• Live content is good if, and only if, it is seen by consumers, so your broadcasting schedule should adhere to your targeted demographic’s schedule. The exception: steaming an event or something you cannot change the time.
• Promote before your broadcast — on all platforms you plan on airing the live video.
• Plan out your live content. You don’t need a script, but you do need an outline to ensure you remain on topic
• Make formatting decisions before filming: I.e., horizontal or vertical (We recommend horizontal videos since they are easier to view on mobile devices).
• Offer context regularly — if people start watching in the middle you want to make sure to reference who you are and what you’re doing or discussing so new viewers aren’t lost.
• Always be responsive — you have live comments and reactions — use them.
• Be likable — do not sell. Engage.
• Give yourself a shoutout and thank people for watching.
• Analyze your results — Facebook has several metrics that you can measure with live videos.

Facebook is one of the biggest assets in a marketer’s toolbox. If you aren’t using the platform the right way, you’re missing out on their huge interactive market.

Facebook’s social media marketing revolves around storytelling. This is how businesses and brands connect with consumers on a personal level.

Business-consumer relationships created through Facebook are more emotionally charged. These are bonds established by mutual trust and genuine interest. The Facebook algorithm encourages (and, in a way, requires) businesses and consumers to interact with each other in thoughtful ways in order to create this type of relationship.

Facebook is encouraging business-consumer interactions that revolve around authentic, story-driven content.

That is where facebook story ads are making a huge impact on the market.

Their immediate popularity is partly due to the fact that Facebook Story Ads are more artistically focused than standard paid ads. The platform calls for more thoughtful content and when marketers deliver on that their ads become more relevant, reach more people, and show up in Facebook feeds more frequently.

This focus on storytelling marketing is sure to gain more attraction over the years. Already, Instagram announced their newest concept — a video sharing platform comparable to youtube. This will give marketers access to even more potential consumers — roughly 800 million — and will also open the floodgates for a whole new genre of brand marketing via video storytelling.

By capturing the consumer’s attention with artistic content, marketers open consumers up to their messaging. By holding a consumer’s attention long enough, marketers convince those viewers to take action — whether that is a click through to a landing page, a blog, an email subscription or an online purchase is a win by digital marketing standards.

This idea of design-driven content is further reinforced by the fact that 85% of videos are watched without sound. This, therefore, calls for content with text. Copywriting that sells combined with designs that garner attention is valuable messaging for any brand… no matter how established.

You’re going shopping for your first car. You’ve been saving for years. There are two cars in your price range in the car lot. They are the same make and model but have totally different cosmetics. The first car is a deep blue with polished rims and black tint; the second is neon green with red and orange flames painted down the side, and every available inch covered in shiny chrome.

Which car are you most likely to buy?

Just as an overly flashy car is a turn-off for a new car shopper, flashy video content is a turn-off for someone casually viewing cool videos. Never underestimate the consumer’s control, especially considering the new Facebook algorithm. Annoy a consumer and they will make sure you no longer show up in their media stream. Do that and you lose out on a lot of business.

Good storytelling works. Bad storytelling damages. The better your story the more people engage, share and come back for more. If you can drive users on to the next image, the next web page, the next source of branded media then you are using Facebook Ads successfully.

There are many reasons we are a full-service marketing agency, and one of those is because we refuse to limit our storytelling abilities. The more options we have at our disposal — the more creative tools we have to work with — the better the story.

Specifically, regarding Facebook Story Ads, we’ve noticed that shorter video ads and attention-grabbing GIFs are most effective. They’re simple, quick and get the messaging out fast enough to keep pace with the latest trends and conversations.

We know how to stay relevant. Do you?